Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger elected : Pope Benedict XVI

His Eminence Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, 78 has been elected as the Pope of the Catholic Church by the 115 Cardinals met at the Sistine Chapel last night. The smoke and the ringing of the bells informed the whole world that the College of Cardinals have chose the New Pope to replace the Holy see vacated with the demise of Pope John paul II, on April 02.

The newly elected Pope has chosen as his name Benedict XVI.He will be the 8th Pope from Germany.

The Pope elect gave his "Urbi and Orbi" the first papal blessing to the `city and the world'.

Joseph Ratzinger shortly after being elected on the second day of the Vatican's secret conclave at 15.50 G.M.T., gave the blessing before an ecstatic crowd swelling to well over 100,000 people in St Peter's Square.

"Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul II the Cardinals have elected me a simple and humble labourer in the vineyard of the Lord," he said shortly after his election was announced, after four rounds of voting.

The New Pope who will embrace his new name as Pope Bendict XVI, was once the Archbishop of Munich, and for many years was the prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith.He is known to have been one of the most powerful figures in the Vatican, widely accepted as a leading theologian. He was also the Theological Advisor to late Pope John Paul II for 20 years.

As a Young priest he was on the progressive side of the theological debates but shifted to the right after the student revolution in 1968. In the Vatican, he has been the driving force behind the crackdowns on the Liberation Theology, religious pluralism, challenges to traditional moral teachings on issues such as homosexuality, and dissent on such issues as women's ordination. The dean of the Cardinals since November 2002, he was elevated to Cardinal by Pope Paul VI, in June 1977.